Off Ramp
by Curtis
Summary: [1x2] Duo drops out of school in his final year thinking that he should be able to live his life the way he wants; soon he ends up living on the streets, stealing to survive. However he ends up bumping into an old man who needs a model...
1. Prologue: Sky of Grace

[DISCLAIMER] Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me and I make no money off of this. I also got the title for this fic from a DNAngel website that closed down and vanished. [WARNING] no beta = bad grammar; bad language -_-; there will be homosexual relationships in this (malexmale) dont read if you dont like and all that.

Off Ramp **by Curtis**

Prologue: _Sky of Grace_

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[Duo POV]

I like to live my life the way I live it. I don't like anyone telling me what to do or how to act, its my life after all right? When it all comes down to it, all the choices I make are made by me and no one else. If I want to learn how to fly a plane then I will learn how to fly a plane. If I want to be the strongest man in all of the world, then hell, I am going to be the fucking strongest man in the world. 

So when I told my parents that I wanted to drop out of school in my last year of high school to go live with my dead-beat boyfriend thats what I did.

And up to this day I regret it. Not the living with my fucked over boyfriend instead of my parents part, hell, even he was an improvement over them. The thing that really fucked me over was not finishing high school when I had the chance.

When I was in school Otto was the shit. He was 26 with the world on his shoulders, he had a small apartment in the worst part of town, and no real job. Well, he told everyone that he was a salesman, but the hours he worked were all over the place and for weeks at a time all he seemed to do was sit around and help me skip school. Sometimes back then I would wonder what he sold, or where he sold it at, but I never really thought about it long. I was convinced there were more important things to life then what my boyfriend did for work. I really wish I hadn't been so fucking stupid back then. The day I told my parents that I was moving out and dropping school to be with him was the day they told me I was no longer their son. In all reality, it didn't faze me a bit. They were bad people and even worse parents. My dad had been a womanizing pervert with mush for brains while my mom had escaped into a bottle to get away from my dad.

The next few weeks found me happily living with Otto, not going to school and hanging out at his apartment all day. Otto went out during the day, for work he told me, and then during the night he would come back and fuck me though the bed. All in all I was a happy naive teenager, living out my life the way I wanted with no one ever telling me what to do.

To this day I'm still not sure what the fuck Otto did for work, and actually, I really dont want to know. Within three months I was kicked out of his apartment after our relationship turned sour, and left to fend for myself on the streets. I couldn't go back to my parents after the fight we had had it would be impossible to even set foot on their lawn, much less get into their house. Not that I wanted to anyways, I would rather live on the streets then live back with them. 

Which was actually what I ended up doing. Living on the streets that is.

The next few weeks found me sleeping in shelters during the night and hiding in alley ways during the day. At first I had to eat out of garbage cans, but after awhile I picked up the neat trick of being able to pick pocket. I was caught the first couple of times while doing it, however as time passed by I got better and better and by the time I hit nineteen I was one of the self-proclaimed best. Along with the new ability to pick pocket came the new ability to be quick and with those to things combined I was easily able to make it into a street gang. Soon I left the night shelter for an abandoned building and while I still hid out in the alleys, I was no longer alone.

The gangs leader was named Jeff when I first entered, but as time passed and I got to be one of his favorites he decided to change his name to Solo, so that we would be a pair. He had a morbid sense of humor which I didn't totally get....however I went along with it anyway, because their was no way that I was going to second guess him.

A year later Solo was dead and I dropped out of our famous street gang. In the end it turned out for the best, after all, you cant live in a street gang the rest of your life can you? So I bid my time on the streets, pick pocketing and generally having a miserable time.

And then one day everything came together.

I had been walking down the street late one evening, doing my usual pick pocketing deal, when I saw the perfect man to go for. He had been older, maybe mid-50's early 60's. He hadn't seemed to really be paying attention to anything on the street and just hobbled along, muttering under his breath. While anyone else would have just saw a crazy old man I saw something rather different. The coat that the man was wearing might not have looked like much, but I knew instantly that it had to have been custom made. And having things custom made for you didn't come cheep.

I walked until I was right behind him, making sure that I could see the indent of a wallet in his back pocket, before I slipped forward and bumped right into him. As I had expected it had been an easy grab, however something I had not expected was the hand that had gruffly grabbed my arm.

"Hay man, whatcha' think your doin'?!" I put on my best 'I-didn't-do-anything-what's-wrong-with-you' look. No one had caught me for years, and for the first time in a long time I was starting to feel slightly panicked. That would teach me ever to get to cocky again.

The old man leaned in close and I know my eyes must had been the size of dinner plates.

"Man what's you problem! Let the fuck go of my fuckin' arm!" I tried to pull my arm away, but for an old man he had a tight grip and I found myself unable to move away from him.

"Your perfect..." Hearing his muttered words I tried even harder to get away, if it came down to it I knew I could always scream rape. I might lose some dignity, but at least I would be fuckin free and away from the creep.

His eyes had looked first down my frame, looking over my body as if he were critiquing it. His eyes then had darted over to my long dirty chestnut colored hair that I kept back in a tight braid.

I had thought for sure that the man would attempt to rape me, after all the streets were deserted at this time of hour, so imagine my surprise when he had let go of my arm with a laugh. The confusion must had shown on my face for he held out his hand and introduced himself as G, a talent agent. I know my eyes must have narrowed then, I had heard tons of stories of sick perverts who would lead kids to believe that they were talent agents or TV producers just to find away to get a kid into their car.

He must have sensed my distrust because he reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card and handed it to me. It had looked like the real deal but I still didn't let my guard down. Sometimes the worst ones did the most planning.

However, just because I was wary of him didn't mean that I wasn't curious about what he had said before. Its a personality flaw of mine I think, I am always curious about almost anything that has to deal with me. Call me egotistical, call me vain, call me human...

"Your the model I need."

I tilted my head, looking at him like he was crazy. "Model?"

The man, G, coughed and then let a frown claim his face. "Well your dirty, and smelly, and obviously dont have any manners at all, but yes. Model. You might be something cleaned up."

I narrowed my eyes. "Its not like I have a choice ya know?"

"Obviously." he grunted and turned around. "Come with me."

I blinked. "Where?"

"Where does it look like I'm going dolt?" He called over his shoulder as he crossed the street and walked into the tall rich building that had the same address that was listed on his card. I remember thinking something along the lines of 'what the hell' as I ran across the street and into the building that the old man had newly opened with a set of keys.

That was the day everything changed.

That was also the day I picked up 80 extra dollars.

The old man never even figured out I lifted his wallet until a week later.

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TBC...

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Extra Note: Eh, Reviews would be nice...I'm not too sure if I should continue this. I do have the next chapter written, but I dont know if I should post it...If I continue this, the pairings for this fic with be 1x2 and 3+4 and 5+?

*cough*sorry-for-spelling-errors-I-don't-have-a-beta*/cough*


	2. Chapter One: Orange Sherbet

[See first part for Warnings and Disclaimers]

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Off Ramp **by Curtis**

Chapter One: _Orange Sherbet_  
  
**[Duo POV]**  
  
'Oh Gods I'm thirsty.'  
  
That was the one thought that kept repeating over and over in my head as I completed the final loop with my skates, sweat making its way down my face and the curve of my back. It had only been a little over a week ago that G had found me and declared me to be his "perfect" model, and stupid me, I thought that meant that I didn't have to change a thing.   
  
Showed how much I knew.  
  
"G, can I take a drink now?" He looked up at my sweat drenched form and let out a laugh as he happily reclined in his old lawn chair, fingering the magazine in his lap. My left eye twitched, something that had been becoming a habit recently.  
  
I forced my left eye to behave itself so I could send a glare over in his direction.  
  
Apparently my legs and arms weren't toned enough for him, and in order to correct this he had given me 10 pound weights to carry around while I roller bladed in a fucking circle. Over and over again. For 2 fuckin' hours.  
  
"Yes, of course. Just don't have anything other than the bottled water on the bottom shelf. And make sure you only have one, I don't want you putting on any water weight before your demo shoot."  
  
I rolled my eyes as I tugged off the blades and tossed them on the ground. As I entered his house I easily spotted his tiny refrigerator and practically threw open the door. The bottled water that he ordered I drink sparkled up at me from the bottom shelf, just as he said it would. However, Duo Maxwell never took orders from anyone and I found myself taking the lone Mt. Dew bottle that sat on the top shelf.  
  
I sat down heavily on the floor as I popped off the lid and took a large drink. It was times like this that I found true happiness. I had thought that the moment G had taken me in, the stress in my life would just evaporate. But that had not been the case. In fact, the moment G had taken me in my stress had almost doubled. On the streets I had never had to bother with the way I looked. I had not been in the business of selling myself, and if you lived on the streets that was probably the only reason you would want to look good. After all, looking good on the streets only gave more incentive to the perverts who were looking to rape.   
  
Even when I had been in school I hadn't really cared about what I looked like. Sure, I had always washed my hair and brushed my teeth, but I had never really paid attention to how toned my muscles were, or what type of clothes I wore.  
  
Now, things were totally different. Every day I had to weigh myself first thing in the morning to make sure that I hadn't gained anything the day before, and G always made sure I stuck to eating fruits and vegetables with water as the main drink. Okay, so I admit that at first I loved it. What street rat wouldn't love always knowing what they were going to be eating and drinking everyday? However G had a sweet tooth, and eating a small salad while he's eating a bag a chips and cookies just didn't sit well with me. Sometimes I would get the biggest craving for some ice cream ya know? And G, being who he is, always has boxes of ice cream snacks in his fridge. It sucks to know that it's so close, yet so far away. At least on the street the things you want are to far away to tease you.  
  
I had only been living with the man a week, and yet I found myself wanting to run back to the streets with my tail between my legs.  
  
"Boy what are you doing?"   
  
Hearing G's voice from outside, I quickly picked myself up from the floor and threw the almost empty Dew bottle in the trash. I knew it was a futile effort on my part, there was no doubt in my mind that he would find out that I had drank it instead of the water. But at least for now I was in the shade.  
  
"Nothin' G, I was just restin' on the floor." I replied as I walked over to the open door (had I forgotten to close it?) and stepped out into the bright light.  
  
G lifted his head from the magazine he was reading and raised an aged eyebrow at me. "You look like shit."  
  
My eye twitched again. "Ya would look like shit too if ya had just gone skatin' in 90 degree weather with 20 pound weights attached to y'ur arms."  
  
"Are you still complaining about that?" It bugged me immensely that he hadn't even been looking at me when he spoke this time around. Instead, all his attention had once again returned to the magazine in his lap.  
  
"Yeah, I'm still complaining about that."  
  
G smirked at me, and gingerly got up from his lawn chair. I made sure to watch every move he made. I might not have been living with him long, but I had been around him enough to know that every time he got that look on his face he was up to something.  
  
"Here," he grunted as he slapped the open magazine to my chest as he passed by me and continued through the still open door into the house. I must have had a confused expression on my face because he turned around once he had entered the house and addressed me again. "Study that page, when you think you've learned something from it come in the house and we'll talk."  
  
I know I winced as the door slammed, and in fact, I think the whole house winced as the door slammed. G lived in a one story house that I knew for a fact he hated. Once upon a time he had been rich and lived in a large house, or so he told me. An ex-leading model of his did something that cost him his fortune and his rep, which was why he had been so desperate as to get me.  
  
Knowing that I wasn't going to be getting in the house until I looked at the magazine, I forced myself to sit in the lawn chair that G had left out and look at the pages that were open to me.  
  
And I blinked. Oh, I know that sounds stupid, but its true! The first thing I did when I saw what G had left for me to look at was blink. I guess it was my mind processing what it was seeing.  
  
On the left side of the magazine was some boring article on how to kiss, written in light pink letters on a dark blue background. However that wasn't what interested me. What interested me was what was on the right side.  
  
It was a full page ad for a brand of cigarettes. In the ad was a boy not must older then me, 21 maybe 22, with dark chocolate hair that fell messily over his forehead. His eyes were a dark lightning blue, and I couldn't help but think that he was wearing contacts. It was impossible for someone to have eyes that color normally. The features on his face told of his Asian ancestry, and his body was thin and toned. My eyes moved over his slim hips in a caress, and I swear I could feel the drool gathering at the side of my mouth. He was pushed up again a wall, with a cigarette dangling from his long fingers. The way he stood told of his confidence and I couldn't help but think that in real life he would be rather intimidating.  
  
"That's what we want."  
  
My head snapped up so fast that I swore I gave myself whip lash. G was standing in front of me with an amused smile on his face, looking quite happy with himself. I had the desire to stick my tongue out at him, but held it in knowing that G would probably make some comment on how childish I was. It really did bug me that he could sneak up on me. I had only been off the street for about a week and already I was losing my edge.  
  
"What exactly is it that we want? And why are you out here, I thought you were gonna to wait inside for me?" I wanted to groan at my whiny voice. Oh, the horrors of sounding like a drama queen.  
  
"What we want, is what you just did," G said, ignoring my second question while sitting himself on the ground in front of me when all I did was look at him stupidly. "You got lost in that boy while looking at him." There had been a bitter tone in his voice in the last statement that I couldn't help but pick up on. "Your eyes focused on him, and you didn't even hear me come outside because you were so into looking at him. Thats what we want people to do when they look at you. If you're ever going to make this work you need to put out the same aura that he's putting out, you need to draw people in."  
  
"So, what you're saying is that I need to start thinking I'm this guy in my demo shoot?" I didn't really need any more explanation, but I knew it would piss off G, so I let the question fire.  
  
"No. What I'm saying is that you need to get his attitude...."   
  
G kept on talking after that, but I didn't pay much attention to him. He had rambled enough around me for me to be able to tune him out. My gaze found itself resting back on the picture, and the question came out past my lips before I had even realized that it had formed in my head.  
  
"Did you know him?"  
  
G's eyes went wide and for a moment I thought he was going to go into seizures. "W... Why do you ask that?"  
  
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to look uninterested while in reality I was burning to know what G was hiding. "Its just that you sounded so bitter when you were talkin' about him is all."  
  
G looked at me hard under his gaze for a moment before sighing and closing his eyes. "Yes, I do know that boy in that ad."  
  
I knew I was pushing, but I couldn't stop myself. "How?"   
  
G looked like he was going to tell me something but then change his mind. "He's Heero Yuy, and everyone in this business knows who he is. Just like someday everyone will know who Duo Maxwell is." He paused as he got up. "Now, if you'll excuse me I am going to go make your lunch, and mine. You need to go up to your room and put on the clothes I put on your bed, you have your shoot in 2 hours."  
  
As I watched G leave, I knew for a fact that he hadn't told me all he knew about the Asian boy in the magazine ad. Yawning, I got up out of the lawn chair and made my way over to the door.   
  
For now it didn't really matter that G was holding things back from me, because in 2 hours I had my first demo shoot.

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TBC...

Extra Note: *cough* This chapter came out a bit boring, didnt it? Actually there was a whole point to this chapter, you just need to look for it...(aka there was a clue that needed to be dropped so future chapters could be written) ^^;

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Special Thanks goes out to: **Katu;** who is my acting beta for this fic! Katu does a WONDERFUL beta job, I wouldnt have gotten the chapter out without her! **Sam; **who told me my writting wasnt crap at 3 in the morning :) Love you Sam! **Apathy;** who offered to archive me at her site, (which I will have a link to in my profile soon...) Apathy runs a great website in which people should visit *nudge nudge* Thanks Apathy! ^__^

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And **thanks to these Reviewers (ek, sorry if I miss anyone! ^^)! Reading all your reviews made me want to continue this fic so...thanks a lot! ^__^ In the end it all came down to these people on if I would post the second chapter or not:**

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NemesisMuse, Dark Peppermint, Amaris, Chibi Okami, Miyavigrl, FreeThinker, *Kitsune*, Sir Gabs-a-lot, Shini-girl Kit, GundamFoxfire, PATTY 40, Akennea, Kaitou Rinna-chan, MidnightFrost, MizSandry

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Please Review :) It makes me warm and cuddly inside ^__^


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